


the way the pieces fall

by ebonynightwriter



Series: Shallura Week 2018 [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Action, Angst, Canon Universe, Drama, F/M, Friendship, Future Fic, Hurt / Comfort, One-Shot, Planet Exploration, Promises, Quintessence Rifts, Shallura Week 2018, soft talks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-17
Updated: 2018-09-17
Packaged: 2019-07-13 16:09:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,899
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16021385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonynightwriter/pseuds/ebonynightwriter
Summary: Allura leans over herself, hands pressed at her chest. It feels like her heart was breaking all over again. //“If there’s a chance, I want you to—”





	the way the pieces fall

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** This idea was originally for another prompt I had a while ago that I never had time to write. But I wrote it now! :D Hopefully it’s not terribly confusing.
> 
> -.-
> 
> **[shallura week (2018) // day 2](http://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/tagged/mine:%20shallura%20week%202018)** · head/ heart
> 
> -.-

In space, war never truly leaves.

Out of the millions of planets and billions of star systems, there was always someone fighting somewhere. Whether for a home, a people or a need for power — and there are always repercussions. No matter if it’s a civilization lost or planet conquered or a fleet of starships lost in time, the remnants remain — staying dormant in the endless void of space, until some curious and brave explorer finds them, and asks what had happened.

There is no shortage of curiosity in the universe, which is why Captain Forn is not nervous or surprised to be within the outer edges of the Gulvin Sector, watching the remains of a battle long passed drift beside the bridge’s window. It was all more of the same conflict of life and war; one that went on without an end.

He takes his eyes from the window.

“The information from that scouting party said it was around these coordinates,” he says, his voice raised at his crew. “Adjust ten degrees left, and keep an eye out for any hidden debris.”

The crew replies: _“Yes, sir!”_

They adjust their course accordingly, moving carefully through two battle cruisers that had just missed being mangled together. Forn clasps his hands behind his back, waiting as the shadows of debris floats through the windows. As they continue, Forn’s attention diverts to a woman dressed in a cloak of gold and blue.

“We should be there soon, Your Highness,” he says. “Will there be anything else you’ll need from us?”

The woman holds the opening of the cloak together, her gaze locked to the horizon.

“A transport to the surface will be all that I require, Captain.”

Forn smiles, nodding deeply.

“Very we—”

“—whoa!” a crew member, Kip, exclaims, leaning back in their seat. Forn faces front immediately, the entire bridge holding their breath as a single planet came into view. Small, and hidden with the field of debris — at first glance it may appear to be a typical C-Class mass. But there was one thing Forn had not seen in all his years of space exploration, something he was sure had long disappeared from their reality. But it was here — the unmistakable glow of golden veins running across the entire surface of the planet.

“Captain,” Kib calls. “What _is_ that?”

“A quintessence rift,” the woman answers. The crew turn their eyes to her, watching the woman with questionable certainty.

“It appears to be dormant,” she continues, taking no mind to their stares. “Be careful not to get too close.”

Forn watches his helmsman swallow hard, hands shaking around the navigator’s controls. As they draw closer to through the debris the woman turns, undoubtedly heading for the transport ship she’d requested before. Forn brings a hand along the top of his head, it would be no good to send her in alone...

“Eb! Renner!” he shouts over his shoulder. “You’ll accompany Her Highness to the surface!”

The woman stops at the doors, her silver hair dulls to gray as another chunk of debris passes over. Her eyes, brighter than Balmeran crystals, shine through the shadow.

“Thank you, Captain.”

Forn scratches his neck with a smile.

“They’ll take good care of you.”

With Eb and Renner at her back, Allura leaves the bridge.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

The transport ship takes her to the planet, touching down minutes after their departure. The thick wall of a forest meets her eye-line as she exits, its trees topped with light purple leaves. The decaying corpse of a Galra cruiser rests beyond the forest’s sight, its hull crushed into the surface.

“Wow!” Eb says, walking toward the cruiser. “That ship’s massive!”

“Well, that’s how they made ‘em back then,” Renner says, his voice distorted by a toothpick pressed between his teeth. He walks to Eb, hoisting a large blaster to his back.

“You ready to go, Your Highness?” he asks, turning back to her as he secures it in place. Allura shakes her focus from the cruiser.

“Yes,” she says. “And please, call me Allura.”

Renner gives a wide smile.

“Alright,” he says, turning toward the trees. “Let’s go, Your Highness Allura.”

Allura can’t help but smile back.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

They find the first vein minutes after entering the forest. It’s a small one, its quintessence light and playful, aiding in the growth of the forest’s plants, which had spread to a thick mass around them. Eb and Renner assist in clearing a path, and once one has been made Allura goes straight to the source, guided by the light shining from it.

Kneeling before the vein, Allura closes her eyes with her palms extended outward, honing the knowledge she lacked so long ago, when the rifts first opened to their universe. Her hands glow with a faint blue light, and slowly the quintessence flowing from it begins to recede. The plants and brush around her reacts, color fading as the crack seals, until all that remained was a dark line in the earth. Eb and Renner step back from the path, bumping into the plants they had just worked so hard to push away. They crumble like ash before their eyes.

“Uh, sorry...” Eb says. “Should we really be doing this?”

Allura opens her eyes.

“You idiot,” Renner says, smacking Eb on the head. “The rift’s the whole reason why the war _started_ in the first place. Everyone knows that!”

Eb’s sags.

“Yeah, but—”

“Should the wrong people discover this, the consequences would be unfathomable,” Allura says, raising to her feet. “One forest’s life is trivial to that.”

Eb sighs hard.

“Okay,” he says. Renner places a comforting hand on his shoulder. A breeze flows through the trees. It bellows the edges of her cloak, scattering the shriveled plant away. Allura watches as it fades away, disappearing before their eyes.

Renner’s voice breaks the silence.

“Where to next—”

The _crack_ of a branch behind her breaks it even further.

Renner rushes forward, at her side before she can turn to the noise. His blaster ready in his hands, he looks across the area around them for signs of what made the noise. Allura looks as well, squinting to see within all the shadows of the trees...

And then, a deer appears, walking between them.

For a moment, none of them move. Allura does not breath, observing the creature as it looks at her with an air of curiosity and caution, its eyes locked on her. Allura releases the air from her lungs, taking a step...

And the creature turns as soon as her foot touches the bramble, bounding into the forest. Allura watches until it disappears from sight, as Renner slowly relaxes, resting his blaster on his shoulder.

“So,” he says, mumbling with the toothpick. “Where to next?”

Allura pushes a puff of air from her nose, smiling softly toward the trees the deer had escaped to.

“This way,” she says.

They walk in the opposite direction.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Dusk falls before they hears from Forn.

_“How’s it going down there?”_ he asks, voice cracked through speaker in Eb’s radio. _“Want us to come get you?”_

Renner takes his own from his belt.

“No thanks, Captain,” he says. “I think we’re almost done here.”

_“Copy that,”_ Forn replies.

The radio fades to static, and with a click turns off completely. Renner puts the device back at his side, looking ahead to where Allura knelt, closing a wide vein than spanned the length of their transport ship. Eb kneels beside her, holding her shoulders as the quintessence fades.

“Are you alright?” he asks, holding her as gently as he can. Allura sits back on her legs as the last of the vein seals, the energy draining from her limbs.

“This may be beyond my ability,” she admits. “I’ll have to return with the alchemists of Arus.”

Hand against her head, she waits there a moment to collect herself, then slowly gets to her feet—

“Hey,” Renner says, catching her from behind. “No need to out-do yourself, you know.”

“Yeah,” Eb says. “Maybe you should take a break.”

Allura steadies herself, hand stretched out to a nearby tree.

“Thank you,” she says, giving a deep breath. “But I’ll be fine.”

Renner and Eb look to each other, concern written all over their faces.

“Okay,” Renner says. “Let’s get going.”

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Night descends on the planet. Without light from the quintessence veins, the three of them were left to walk back among the darkness, save for a small lights Eb and Renner had brought with them. With Eb at her back, Allura walks a small ways behind Renner, listening to the sounds of the forest. She could hear the cries and calls of creatures, but saw none within the trees. They were all fairly distant — with the exception of a howl that drifted through the leaves. Eb jumps at the sound, hand hovering above a small pistol strapped to his leg.

“Wh-what was that?” he says, looking around.

“It’s just animals,” Renner says. “Don’t worry, we’ll be out of here soon.”

Eb takes a long breath, and continues. Looking back at him, Allura can’t help but smile. He was so much like Hunk...

She walks into Renner’s arm.

“Stop!” Renner says, holding a finger to his lips. She steps back as he faces ahead, weapon drawn and raised at the trees. Eb waits close to her side, nervously pulling the pistol as the light padding of feet on the ground grows around their ears. They all look around carefully, and when the steps fade away into the trees Renner keeps his eyes on their front, stepping forward—

A hint of gold shines through the shadows.

“Eb!” Renner shouts. “There!”

Then, after a flash of gold, a beast appears beside Renner, jumping at him. Renner is thrown to the ground, the length of his blaster the only thing keeping him safe. He struggles as the beast bites and claws against his weapon, its mouth a snarling cave of teeth and hot drool. Through the faint light within the forest and the glow emitting from its body, Allura recognizes the creature immediately — it was a cosmic wolf.

“Ren!” Eb shouts, aiming his gun in his friend’s direction. His entire body shakes as he aims—

“Wait!” she shouts.

—and fires. The trees light up with a flare of red, but the wolf sees the projectile coming, and flashes away as the blast slams into a tree. Eb barely has time to process what happened before it appears on the ground beside him and Allura, lunging at him the moment it lands. The wolf’s teeth sink into Eb’s shoulder as it pulls him down to the ground, a cry ripping from his throat.

Renner rushes to Eb, kicking the beast away. He stands between it and Eb, the wolf staring them down. Eb groans on the ground, hand pressed into his shoulder. Renner glances at his friend, then looks back to her.

“Get back to the ship!”

Dread seeps into her bones.

“What?” she says, not believing the words she just heard. “I can’t—”

“You can and you will,” Renner says, keeping his weapon steady as the wolf begins to pace the trees. “We’re tough guys, Allura... We’ll find a way back on our own.”

“But—”

Renner’s teeth grind together.

_“Just run!”_

The wolf lunges—

Allura breaks through the trees as the second shot goes off.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

She runs as fast as she can.

_“Captain!”_ she shouts, air rushing into the radio’s speaker. “We need help _now!”_

_“Don’t worry,”_ Forn replies. _“We’ll be at your position as soon as we can.”_

Allura slows her pace to a stop as the radio turns to static. Breathing heavily, she places her hand against a tree’s trunk, tilting her head to the sparse blotches of the night sky she could see, looking for Forn’s ship. It would only take them few minutes to get to the surface, if Renner could hold out till then...

A howl rings through the night.

Head snapping over her shoulder, Allura’s heart sinks to her feet. She stays still, frozen in place as the howl fades from the air, leaving the world eerily quiet. She steadies her breath, and before she takes any thought she finds herself running back towards the fight. In her rush, she doesn’t quite remember which direction it was, but if she stayed with her instincts, there was a chance she’d—

A wolf lunges from the trees, grabbing a mouthful of her cloak.

The jerk to her momentum is enough to knock her off her feet, back scrapping against a nearby tree as she lands against the ground, the radio tumbling into the darkness somewhere. She takes a handful of the cloak and pulls it away from the wolf — so hard she throws it into the trees.

She gets to her feet as two more flashes appear in the woods behind the wolf, its companions walking from the shadows as it shakes off the toss. They stare at her, growling, their glowing fur standing on edge.

They leap at her — and she lifts her arms in a cross as a shield of magic appears between her and the wolves, knocking them back with a powerful pulse of energy.

Allura sinks to her knees as the magic fades, her energy spent from the hours sealing the rift. The wolves quickly recover from the blast, and they begin to circle her slowly, wary of her abilities. Her hand digs into the dirt as she tells herself to _stand_. Blue-white energy floats below the surface her palms, only to fade...

_Get up._

The wolves stare hungrily. She closes her eyes as the first one attacks—

—and a sound like a rocket sparking to life goes off behind her. The noise is familiar, so much so that her heart nearly stops. The wolf’s attack never comes, it is wiped away by a line of light that blurs above her. Streaks of gold and purple fly across her vision, the grunts and snarls of battle crash against her ears. In the darkness around her, she only has an inkling of what was happening, but it was clear something was fighting the wolves.

The fight lasts for a minute at best before the wolves escape, fleeing to the woods with their tails between their legs. Allura sits herself up on the ground, light-headed from event. She presses a hand to her face, pinching the sides of her temples as she tries to look upon her would-be savior, the light emitting from their side too blinding to look at. It only makes her head feel worse, and a wave of nausea washes over her.

The light fades as she falls toward the dirt, and a pair of hands grip her shoulders. She tries to keep her head up, but cannot bring herself to draw the strength.

The last thing she remembers before going under completely is the sound of someone saying her name.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

She wakes in a bed.

Everything feels heavy; her head, her limbs — even her mind has a weight to it, as if there was something keeping it from gaining focus again. It takes her a moment, staring at the room’s dark ceiling, to bring everything from the last few hours to the front. They had gone deep into the Gulvin Sector and entered the planet, she’d been closing the rift...

She _snaps_ awake.

_The wolves. Eb and Renner—_

She lifts herself up in an instant, her limbs still sluggish but her mind vibrant, and her feet sweep from the bed as she heads to the door, only to slam her shin into the edge of a table beside her. Something clatters to the floor, and in the darkness she presses a hand to her leg, rubbing the sting away. She finds the table after, feeling around until she finds the cool texture of the wall. She follows it slowly, edging around the room till she finds the edges of a door and switch...

And when she presses it and nothing occurs, she realizes something else — this is not the ship Captain Forn had brought her on.

A pair of footsteps echo down the hall.

Allura steps back from the door, her heavy limbs suddenly filled with adrenaline. Heart beating in her ears, she waits and listens as the sounds gets louder and closer with each passing tick until they stop and the door slides open roughly—

—and as soon as there’s enough space she throws herself through it, slamming into the figure on the other side, holding them against the wall. There’s a chest in her view and a cold touch on her side that she presses hard against, putting her whole being into them. She won’t let them—

“Allura,” the figure says. “Stop!”

And with a single word, the edge escapes from her arms, the life drains from her face. She stops, nearly frozen to the floor as the figure moves her away, a warm hand against her shoulder. She looks down at their side, where the dulled shine of Galra metal hangs in the shape of an arm.

She looks up and sees the scar across his nose.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

She follows him down the hall.

“Sorry,” he says, speaking over his shoulder. “I would’ve said something if I’d known you were awake.”

She trails behind a short ways, hand gripping at her arm. They pass a hole within the hall, covered with thick branches and light leaves. The scent of iron fills her lungs as they go by it, the air densely moist. The whole floor feels off to her, as if the world wasn’t quiet right beneath her.

They round a corner, going through the second door on their right. A large room waits on the other side, packed with storage cabinets along its wall. At the center rests a hollowed out bin with a fire going inside it, a large pot boiling on top. Shiro heads to it first, taking a small ladle beside the range to scoop the pot’s contents into a bowl.

“Here,” he says, holding it out to her. “It’ll help your strength.”

She takes it graciously, holding the warmth below her cheeks.

“How long was I asleep?”

“About three days,” he replies, dipping the ladle back into the pot. Allura’s mind wanders back to the time before, Forn’s ship...

“There were others I was with,” she says. “Do you know if they’re alright?”

“I did see a ship come by a little while after I found you,” he says. “But they lifted off before I could reach them. I think they’re at a place outside the woods now, but I didn’t want to go to them until you were—”

Air hisses through his teeth as he drops the spoon into the broth, collapsing to one knee with his hands holding his head. Allura jumps from his suddenness, and quickly sets the bowl on the floor. She puts a hand to his shoulder as she kneels at his side. All she can do is stare as his hands dig into his head, the veins of his neck tense and thick.

The tension releases moments later. His arms relax and lower, and he takes deep breathes through his nose.

“Sorry...” he says, breathing hard as he stands. “That happens sometimes.”

Allura stands as he dips his metal arm into the pot, pulling the ladle out. He fills himself a bowl, drinking the contents fully with a calm look to his face. Her bowl waits on the floor. She does not move to take it.

Her next question comes slowly.

“Shiro,” she says as he takes the ladle again. “How long have you been here?”

He pauses, the scoop placed right above the pot. His other hand lowers, resting the bowl at the edge of the stove. Within the metal box, the fire crackles, embers flying. He thinks for a while, as if he was running the calculations in his head.

“About... five years,” he says.

Allura feels as though the wind is swept from under her. She needs to sit.

Shiro finishes his bowl, catching her eye as he motions to a pair of small crates in the corner. She sits on one as he retrieves her dish from the floor.

“I still can’t believe, out of all the people in the universe, you were the one to find me first,” he says, steam curling in the air.

“If we want to be completely accurate,” she says, taking the bowl from his hand. “You were the one who found me.”

His mouth spreads into a smile, his lips twitching as he holds it. He takes a seat on a crate beside hers, and her mind goes abuzz with a million things to say—

“I want you to tell me everything,” he says. “How the war’s going...”

Things not to say—

“What you’ve been doing...”

Her hands curl around the bowl—

“How’s everyone been?”

And it _shatters_ into pieces, the liquid spilling across her legs. Shiro gets up from his seat immediately, kneeling in front of her.

“Are you okay?” he asks, collecting the pieces from the floor. “You—”

He stops, wet ceramic sticking to his palms as he looks up at her, eyes swelled with tears. They fall in large droplet down her cheeks, mixing with the broth soaked into her clothes. Her hands are curled against her lap, large pieces of the bowl wrapped within her fingers. He doesn’t understand.

“Allura,” he says, leaning forward. “Tell me, what happened?”

She takes a deep breath, sighing into her lap. Her hands curl lightly around the broken pieces, the edges cutting into her skin.

“They’re dead,” she says. “All of them...”

Shiro’s face goes blank, paler than a ghost. But she isn’t finished, there’s one more...

“It’s been 200 years,” she continues. “You’re a clone.”

With that, the pieces fall.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

_He remembers the pod._

_Scientists dressed in Galra robes observe him from the outside, tinted by pink fluid that surrounds his entire being. One holds a vial of something that they inject into the pod through a port. The memories of the battle with Zarkon, Voltron, his team — they all come back to him._

_He needs to escape. He needs to get back to them._

_The scientists press another button, and he falls asleep._

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

_He wakes later. How much later... he isn’t sure. There’s something wrong outside the pod. The scientists argue amongst themselves, pointing between him and the open door. He thinks he hears something about a failure. A red alarm blares in the hall. The liquid in the pod shakes._

_A scientist heads to the pod, pressing their hand against the scanner and inputting a few commands. Something fills the pod — something dark and smoky. It burns his skin, makes him feel like he’s on fire but he can’t move to put it out. His lungs feel like they’re shriveling from the inside. He needs air—_

_The scientist looks at the pod as he struggles. Then, they leave, closing the door._

_The hull of the ship rips open seconds later._

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

_He’s... dying._

_Or maybe he’s already dead._

_The liquid of the pod slowly drains, dipping from a small crack in the exterior, the burning sensation fades away. Smoke-filled air flows into his lungs. He’s pressed against the pod, his body too weak to move... to weak to do anything but lie there._

_Yeah... he’s dying, that’s for sure._

_Something gold shines beside a hole in the wall — spread thin like a crack._

_He closes his eyes as a feeling of peace washes over him._

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

_He wakes again._

_The smoke, the fire that burned the air before has gone. As has most of the liquid inside the pod. Feeling renewed, he breaks the case open, only to fall face first on a floor covered in rust. The air is moist — it must have sped the ship’s corrosion up._

_Legs weak, he limps to the door._

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

“No...” he says. “No, I remember being with you guys — I remember Voltron! The team—”

“The Galra implanted memories into you,” she explains. “As a way to send you back to us without questions. There was one — one who made it back, but there couldn’t only be one active at a time—”

She stops, hand covering her mouth as more tears fall down her face.

“We managed to get Shiro back... he’d been trapped within the Black Lion,” she continues. “We ended the war eventually but we didn’t know how many of you there were. We thought they were destroyed... but we did stumble on others.”

She takes a deep breath.

“None of them survived.”

He stares at the ground. It was a reaction she’d see from many of the clones they found since the war ended. Others were angry. Some were kind. She always felt terrible for them, but it was something they’d agreed on long ago — it was better to break the news as soon as they could. Rather than risk going through the first...

He sighs. She lifts a hand toward him, reaching for his head...

He jerks away the moment her finger flows between his hair.

“I...” he stops. “I need...”

He gets up before he finishes the sentence, walking out of the room.

Allura leans over herself, hands pressed at her chest.

It feels like her heart was breaking all over again.

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

_At the Olkarion hospital, Shiro stands beside the body of his clone. A vital monitor beeps every couple of seconds, filling the otherwise silent room._

_“This is the last one,” he says. “Pidge’s transmitters didn’t detect any others.”_

_Standing by the door, Allura crosses her arms, fingers rubbing against her raised skin. Looking at the clone in the bed, his face younger than the Shiro she knew, felt surreal. She was no stranger to the pain death brought, but she couldn’t imagine what it would be like — watching yourself die._

_“Has he said anything since they brought him?”_

_“No,” Shiro replies. “He’s been comatose since they picked him up. Probably a good thing, when you think about it...”_

_His hand clenches at his side. The time between monitor’s beeps grows longer._

_“I’m glad your here,” he says in a shaky breath. “There’s something I want to ask you.”_

_Her interest raises, and she steps away from the door._

_“What is it?”_

_“If there’s a chance...” he says. “Years from now, if you come across another, still alive, I want you to...”_

_He leans forward, hands pressed against the bed. She goes to his side, running a hand across his back._

_“I understand,” she says._

_He takes her hand on his shoulder. The monitor continues to beep._

_“Thank you.”_

_They wait for the end._

 

.

 

.

 

.

 

Finally, she finds him in a room.

The cloning pod stands in front of him, its top slightly loop-sided from when the ship had crashed so long ago. Dusted glass is scattered across the floor, thick patches of moss surrounding the pieces in groups. A stream of quintessence glows from the far side of the room, its wall torn away in a mess of mangled metal and corroded wires peeled back like a lid. It illuminates the room slightly, enough for the color to shine off the glass surrounding the base of the pod. Shiro crouches before it, his face reflected off the glass — it is blank and expressionless.

Arms crosses, she waits by the door.

“Shiro,” she says, walking forward—

His brow furrows.

“I’m surprised you can still call me that,” he says. “Knowing what I am.”

Foot lifted behind her in a half step, breath hitches in her throat. In the glass, Shiro’s eyes close. He opens them seconds later, the Galra arm raised into view.

“This was just part of some... Galra experiment, right?” he says, staring at the arm. “I was never really...”

He sighs, pushing the hand through his hair. Allura shifts on her feet.

“No one deserves this,” he says.

A beat passes. Allura tries to think of something, something to say—

He lowers the hand.

“Are you going to finish me?”

She stares at him, fingers seized around her.

“I would have died here eventually,” he says. “It’s what I— it’s what he would’ve wanted.”

Her head lowers at the floor, brow tight.

“I don’t know,” she says. “Not anymore...”

A long breath goes out his nose. Then, in. He lifts the metal arm one more time, fingers straight.

“Guess it’s up to me then.”

Purple glows from the—

And she sets her hand upon the wrist, holding it in place. The light fades between them.

“I don’t know what he would have wanted now,” she says. “And now, it’s not for him or me to decide."

Her grip loosens.

“But... if there’s one thing I do know,” she says, looking him in the face. “It’s that I’ve missed my friend.”

It takes him back for a moment. Then he sighs, smiling softly.

“I’ve missed you too.”

Fingers wrapped around his wrist, she lifts them both to their feet. He takes the hand back, resting on his hip.

“200 years, huh...” he says. “I bet things have changed.”

“For the better,” she smiles. He does the same, turning back to the pod.

“We should go,” she says. “The people I came with... they’re probably worried.”

“Right...” he replies. “I’ll lead the way, just until we’re out.”

She nods.

“I’ll show you the rest.”


End file.
